BC  

Multiple people stabbed, suspect shot by police in downtown Vancouver

Multi-stabbing suspect shot

Photo: The Canadian Press

Vancouver Police officers are shown aiming their guns over the counter of a convenience store in Vancouver on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in this still taken from handout video. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO ? Mainul Islam

Police in Vancouver are on scene at what they describe as a "violent incident" involving multiple stabbings at or near a convenience store.

According to a tweet posted by the VPD on X/Twitter, the incident is unfolding at Robson and Hamilton.

"A number of people have been stabbed, and the suspect has been shot by police."

The 7-Eleven at Robson and Hamilton appears to be the central focus of the activity. The store along with a couple of businesses to the west of it on Robson are taped off.

There is a large crowd and a significant police presence, including mounted police officers.

Robson is blocked off from Homer to Hamilton, though police continue to arrive on scene and the perimeter may likely be expanded.

A video seen by The Canadian Press shows police aiming their guns over the counter of a convenience store and firing at least 10 times.

Police are heard on the video yelling, "move over" as several officers aim their weapons inside the 7-Eleven store.

Mainul Islam, a student and part-time deliver worker who captured the scene on video, says he was stopped by police from entering the store before witnessing the shooting of a man he described as "homeless."

Other video posted online shows a person being taken to an ambulance on a stretcher as paramedics perform chest compressions.

with files from The Canadian Press

BREAKING: Video captured from a 'violent incident' in Vancouver shows firefighters giving chest compressions to a victim.

Unclear how many people have been stabbed or what the motive of this was.

We will update as more information becomes available. #Vancouver pic.twitter.com/HfCLuoJbyx

— Alanna Kelly (@AlannaKellyNews) December 4, 2024

Photo: Brendan Kergin/V.I.A.

Dec. 4, 2024: Vancouver police are responding to multiple stabbings at Robson and Hamilton streets.

'It was like a bomb': B.C. woman survives transport truck tire hitting her SUV

'It was like a bomb'

Leanne Smith considers herself lucky to be alive. 

Just before 11 a.m. on Nov. 28, Smith was driving on Highway 1 near Abbotsford when a tire from a dump truck on the opposite side of the highway careened toward her vehicle. 

“There was no time. It all happened so fast,” she says. “If it hit on the drive’s side … that would have probably killed me.” 

She watched as the tire came across the grass separating the highway lanes and in a split second, it struck the roof of her vehicle. 

“It was like a bomb went off because the tire hit the hood of the car and then the airbags blew up,” the Chilliwack resident recalls. “The next thing I know is the car is filled with powder.” 

Shen then remembers being taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

“It was very scary and I just don’t know how someone can be so careless,” she says. “It just could have been a totally catastrophic accident.”

BC Highway Patrol and Commercial Vehicle and Safety Enforcement (CVSE) officers investigated and determined the 60-year-old driver made a false pre-trip report. 

Cpl. Michael McLaughlin with BC Highway Patrol says RCMP and CVSE have fined the dump truck driver and the company, which are both based in Delta. 

Nearly $700 in fines were issued to the driver, for the false pre-trip report and for not having a vehicle that is appropriate for the highway.

The truck has also been removed from the road and a mandatory inspection has been ordered at the truck company’s expense. 

“BC Highway Patrol does not take a positive view when there are preventable issues that lead to a collision like this. That’s why we laid a lot of fines,” says McLaughlin. “When we have a situation when the wheels on a truck literally come off, obviously we take that extremely seriously.” 

Police have not identified the trucking company or the driver. 

“It really pisses me off ... they get a little slap on the wrist with a $700 little fine, which could have been a life-changing event for all of us,” says Smith. 

Miraculously, Smith managed to drive her vehicle off the highway preventing any further collisions. 

"I don't know if it's years of instinct or an angel on my shoulder, but I managed to get the car off the side of the road somehow,” she tells Glacier Media.

She does not have any broken bones but whiplash and lots of bruising. 

"I have trouble falling asleep sometimes because I can't help but think about it,” she says. "He's still got his normal life to go back to and I'll have to go for probably physio and treatments and I might have to go for counselling to try and deal with this. But he goes on with his life normally, and this could have been totally avoided.”

Smith says the driver did not speak to her when the crash occurred, but she does have a message for him. 

"You want to be a truck driver, you take responsibility for your job so you don't put other people in this situation. You're driving a lethal weapon and in this case, I was lucky, but somebody else may not have been."

Smith is questioning why the fines for the wheels coming off are not higher in B.C. 

In Ontario, wheel separations are considered a serious offence and commercial drivers can face fines between $2,000 and $50,000.

Glacier Media asked the Ministry of Transportation if higher fines would be considered or if the driver would face any more fines. It was also asked if there were any prior investigations taking place against the commercial truck company. Glacier Media did not receive a response by publication time.

"It's just $700 is nothing. It's nothing,” Smith says. "It's changed our lives and affected us... It's just not fair."

Taiwan firm halts plan for $1B battery plant in B.C. that had federal support

Plug pulled on battery plant

Photo: The Canadian Press

Nelson Chang, left, Chairman of TCC Group, E-One Moli Energy (Canada), shakes hands with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after a news conference at the lithium battery manufacturer, in Maple Ridge, B.C., on Nov. 14, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

A $1-billion lithium-ion battery cell production plant that was planned for Maple Ridge, B.C., has been shelved.

The parent company, Taiwan Cement Corp., announced construction of the Canadian plant with much fanfare last year, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier David Eby attending and promising a combined $284.5 million in government funding.

Taiwan Cement Corp. company chairman Nelson Chang is quoted in a release saying that the plant construction has stopped in order to focus on Taiwanese production, in step with other battery makers suspending similar projects across North America.

The corporation's E-One Moli facility has been operating in Maple Ridge since 1990, but expanding the plant was estimated to bring 350 new permanent jobs in addition to safeguarding the current 100 positions at the site.

The B.C. government promised to contribute $80 million at the time towards the facility, while the federal government pledged $204.5 million as part of Ottawa's strategy "on securing key battery manufacturing facilities."

E-One Moli's offices in B.C. and in Taiwan have not responded to requests for comment on the development.

The statement from Chang says E-One Moli has informed the Canadian government of its decision to halt the plans, adding that it will be "very difficult" for the company to build new plants abroad before achieving full efficiency at its Taiwanese facility.

B.C. startup turning junk wood into lumber

Junk wood into lumber

Photo: wikimedia commons

Aspen is a deciduous tree that is not suitable for making lumber.

Vancouver cleantech venture capital firm Chrysalix Venture Capital is getting behind a B.C. company that developed an innovative process for turning aspen and other junk timber into lumber at a new manufacturing plant in Fort St. James, B.C.

Deadwood Innovations, a B.C. company, developed a thermochemical process that takes aspen and other low-quality timber that is unsuitable for sawmilling and transforms it into durable, high-quality lumber.

“At Chrysalix, we recognize the significant challenges facing the forestry industry today, including rising costs, price volatility, shrinking margins, and the growing demand for sustainable products,” Chrysalix partner Alfred Lam said in a press release.

“We are excited to support Deadwood Innovations and their groundbreaking upgrading solution, which directly addresses these challenges by converting low-value feedstocks and waste into high-value products."

The new engineered wood process may address a problem the B.C. with a declining harvest by adding aspen and other poor timber to the fibre basket for making lumber.

Aspen is a deciduous tree that the forest sector considers something of a weed that is only good for pulp, plywood and bioenergy. It is soft, weak, and prone to rot, warping, twisting and shrinkage.

It is most prevalent in the central Interior and northeastern B.C. In the Fort Nelson area, about 60 per cent of the forest is made up of deciduous species, including aspen. In reforestation, aspen’s growth is actively discouraged with the use of herbicides.

Deadwood Innovations developed a thermo-chemical treatment process that increases the wood’s density and strength so that it can be formed into lumber.

Chrysalix’s investment will  help finance Deadwood’s first commercial scale plant in Fort St. James, in partnership with the Nak’azdli Whut’en  First Nation’s Nak'azdli Development Corp.

“We chose to partner with Chrysalix because they are one of the rare VC firms that truly understand industrial innovation and the unique challenges and opportunities within the forestry sector,” Deadwood Innovations CEO Owen Miller said in a press release.

“As we enter the next phase of our journey, their expertise, extensive network, and commitment to our vision will be crucial in driving Deadwood’s growth across Canada and expansion into global markets.”

Vancouver Art Gallery scuttles $600M design of new building, parts way with architect

Art gallery redesign axed

Photo: The Canadian Press

People eat lunch on the Vancouver Art Gallery steps in downtown Vancouver, B.C., Nov. 23, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

The Vancouver Art Gallery says it is not going ahead with a planned design for its new home after construction costs soared by $200 million.

Vancouver Art Gallery CEO Anthony Kiendl also says in a written statement that it would no longer be working with the Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron, although it remains committed to building a new cultural hub that will “serve and inspire diverse audiences.”

Construction at the site of the new building in downtown Vancouver will be paused, just a few months after the gallery announced that the estimated cost surged from the original budget of $400 million to $600 million for the nine-level tower.

Kiendl says that his organization has been reassessing the project ever since, and “it has become clear” that the gallery needs a new way forward to meet its artistic mission and vision, and its practical needs.

The new art gallery was to be opened in 2028, and fundraising efforts raised more than $350 million for the project by August.

Officials had said that the first stage of pre-construction has been completed, and Kiendl says the gallery will reveal more details on its next steps “over the coming months.”

“Our goal is to create a building that embodies a diverse and inclusive artistic vision while ensuring financial sustainability within a fixed budget,” he says. “We recognize that inflation has put tremendous pressure on our plans, as it has done with many capital projects following the pandemic.

“At its last meeting, the board approved updated strategic priorities that will guide the gallery as we move forward," the statement says.

Heavy fog again envelops Metro Vancouver, parts of southern B.C. coast

Fog swallows Vancouver

Photo: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

A Hullo Ferries passenger vessel passes under the Lions Gate Bridge as fog shrouds Burrard Inlet in Vancouver, B.C., Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024.

Heavy fog has again enveloped parts of southwestern British Columbia, including Metro Vancouver, a day after the region saw near-zero visibility.

Environment Canada has reinstated a fog advisory, this time also covering parts of Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast.

The weather agency says a ridge of high pressure remains over the region, creating favourable conditions for low clouds and dense fog.

The advisory says the fog is expected to dissipate later in the day but may again reform in the evening.

At Vancouver International Airport, there has been at least one departure flight cancelled this morning, although most other departures remain on schedule while a number of arriving flights have been delayed.

Environment Canada says motorists are also advised to take extra caution due to a possible sudden drop in visibility.

Victoria man gets five years for sexually assaulting minor after providing her drugs

5 years for sex assault

Photo: .

Peter John Hooper, 49, was sentenced last month in Victoria after being convicted in 2023 of two counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexual interference. TIMES COLONIST FILES

Advisory: This story contains details of sexual assaults involving a minor.

A Victoria man has received a five-year sentence for sexually assaulting a minor twice in 2018 after providing her illicit drugs.

Peter John Hooper, 49, was sentenced last month in Victoria after being convicted in 2023 of two counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexual interference.

The victim was 14 when she met Hooper in June 2018 and was actively using drugs and spending time in downtown Victoria with others with addiction issues, the sentencing decision by Justice Jan Brongers says.

On one day in June 2018, she took the bus with two acquaintances to Langford to get drugs from Hooper. The four of them smoked methamphetamine and drove around Victoria so Hooper could buy more drugs before he drove the group to an unoccupied motorhome on Bear Mountain.

Hooper left the motorhome to get condoms. One of the girl’s acquaintances had the girl change into lingerie and told her to say she was 17 if Hooper asked her age.

When Hooper returned, he had sexual intercourse with the girl. He did not ask for consent or her age and she did not want to have sex with him, the decision says.

In October 2018, when the girl was 15, living with a friend and consuming crack daily, she and a friend contacted Hooper to get drugs from him. The girl was then willing to have sex with Hooper to get drugs, the decision says.

Hooper gave the girl a pipe, which she smoked believing it contained methamphetamine. However, she became sleepy, leading her to believe it contained fentanyl.

Hooper got on top of the girl and again had intercourse with her while she was “nodding off,” eventually losing consciousness, the decision says.

Again, he did not ask her age.

At trial, the girl said she suffers from complex post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the assaults.

“She has nightmares, flashbacks when she is intimate with partners, and is triggered when she sees people who look like Mr. Hooper,” the decision says.

The girl’s parents said in a victim impact statement that Hooper preyed on “an extremely vulnerable girl” who was dependent on drugs and easily influenced.

“He took advantage of a situation that frankly was vile and incomprehensible. The timing of these assaults certainly [exacerbated] our daughter’s continuous efforts to get sober and prolonged her and our great suffering during that period.”

Hooper was using crystal methamphetamine consistently for six months until his arrest in late 2018, but he quit drugs while in custody and has not relapsed since his release in early 2019.

He pleaded guilty in 2021 to two incidents involving a 15-year-old victim in July 2018 and was convicted of sexual exploitation and sexual assault against a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old for incidents between May and December 2018.

Hooper’s defence lawyer proposed a conditional sentence to be served in the community, arguing the offences took place when Hooper was regularly using crystal methamphetamine, which made him “careless about who he was spending time with and what he was doing.”

In particular, Mr. Hooper was not careful about verifying the age of persons with whom he engaged in sexual activity,” his lawyer argued.

His reckless behaviour stopped after he quit using drugs, his lawyer argued.

The Crown argued for a sentence of eight to 10 years.

Brongers said the impact of Hooper’s “reprehensible” actions has been “significant and enduring,” continuing to diminish the girl’s quality of life six years later.

“Mr. Hooper’s conduct must be denounced, and he must be deterred from engaging in such abhorrent behaviour in the future,” Brongers said.

B.C. man receives conditional discharge for using stolen credit card

Caught with stolen card

Photo: Jeremy Hainsworth.

Vancouver Provincial Court, where a judge warned a Vancouver man on Dec. 3 to comply with his discharge conditions.

A Vancouver man who pleaded guilty to using a stolen credit card received a conditional discharge from a Vancouver Provincial Court judge Dec. 3.

Ryan Sundar Prasad had been charged with defrauding a man of less than $5,000 as well as using a credit card knowing it was obtained through a criminal offence, according to charge information sworn May 21.

Prasad pleaded guilty to the second charge.

The victim had reported the card among items stolen from his vehicle on June 7, 2023, Judge Dawn Boblin heard from Crown prosecutor Ryan Elias.

Elias said Prasad and co-accused Sukhjit J. Singh used the card’s tap function at three different locations, spending about $450.

Elias said Singh drove while Prasad used the card.

Since the charges, Prasad has lost his job and is looking for another one, the court heard.

Boblin agreed to a 12-month conditional discharge.

“This sounds to me like he made a very, very stupid decision,” Boblin said.

Turning to Prasad, she told him a conditional discharge is “a big deal,” and warned him he could return to court if he breaches the discharge conditions.

“It’s really important you comply,” she said.

As part of his conditions, Prasad is not allowed to have any financial cards, cheques, ID, bills, or invoices in any name other than his own.

 

Swift superfans descend on Vancouver for end of Eras Tour. What drives the devotion?

Swift superfans descend

Photo: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Heather Roy, her daughter, Harper, 12, and dog Dulce, pose with a photo of Harper's big sister Evelyn, who died of cancer in 2020, in Calgary, on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024.

Heather Roy says that when she and her 12-year-old daughter Harper attend Taylor Swift's second show in Vancouver on Saturday, someone else will be with them — Harper's big sister Evelyn, who died of cancer in 2020 at age 11.

"For us, it just feels like so much more than a concert," Roy said.

Swift's music provided comfort to Evelyn during treatment for neuroblastoma. She'd play Swift's upbeat 2012 hit "22" to get her through the uncomfortable task of changing the dressing on her main intravenous line.

Now, Swift is a connection to Evelyn for her mother and sister, who won their tickets in a giveaway and will be travelling to the show from Calgary.

"When you don't get any more memories, to have something and somebody that makes you feel like you get something new from a person that's no longer here is very profound," Heather Roy said through tears.

The Roys' experience is singular but the intensity of the connection fans feel to Swift and her music is the driving force behind the immense success of the Eras Tour, which ends its 149-show run around the world in Vancouver on Sunday night.

Experts in the phenomenon, including Brock University cultural history professor Elizabeth Vlossak, say the level of superfandom is near unique, fuelled and defined by relationships with fellow devotees as well as the one-sided "parasocial" relationship with Swift herself.

Some Swifties have been getting permanent commemorative tattoos. Others have been quitting their jobs to follow the tour across multiple cities and countries. And host cities have thrown themselves into the moment.

"The cities become completely devoted to Taylor Swift being there," said Vlossak. "The only thing that I think has really ever come close to that is Beatlemania in the '60s."

Vancouver is no exception. Light installations around the city pay homage to the singer-songwriter, and businesses ranging from tattoo parlours to gyms to fashion retailers are hosting various Swift-themed events.

Tourism organization Destination Vancouver has said Swift will bring an estimated $157 million to the city this weekend, including $97 million in direct spending on things including accommodation, food and transport.

An estimated 160,000 ticket holders will watch the sold-out Vancouver shows, ending a tour that became the first to take in more than $1 billion in revenue, according to music trade publication Pollstar.

"There really is no comparison (among previous events)," said Vlossak, "because just the sheer scale of this tour and the numbers of people coming to them is nothing like what we even saw in the height of Beatlemania in '64 to '65," she said.

Harvard University English Prof. Stephanie Burt, who has taught a literary course on Swift, agreed. She said the Beatles had not expected Beatlemania, and did not have the desire or technology to perform in such loud stadiums, "so they stopped touring."

Swift, on the other hand "knew and wanted to be famous in this way," said Burt.

What separates Swift from other incredibly famous solo artists, she said, is her songwriting.

"Underneath all of this success is her at a guitar or at a piano, with or without a collaborator, writing a song."

WHAT MAKES A SWIFTIE?

Marissa Regole, a longtime Swiftie from Arizona, has already been to 10 Eras Tour shows and is capping that with the final night of the tour in Vancouver on Sunday.

She credits Swift for connecting her with like-minded fans from across the United States who have since become her best friends, meeting up for concerts and listening parties.

"I didn't even know any of these girls before the Eras Tour started, but now we talk every day," she said in an interview.

University of Kansas sociology professor Brian Donovan, a self-described "Swiftologist," said that's the main marker for how Swift's superfans separate themselves from the casual fan — their relationships.

Donovan said membership can be most easily observed in how the fans speak to one another, something sociologists have coined a "fanilect."

"When Swifties are talking with one another, they have this ability to kind of lace in these Swiftie references that bond the fandom together — you feel connected through that shared language," Donovan said.

He also highlighted the phenomenon of fan-led projects, such as the trading of friendship bracelets or organizing chants during specific songs during shows.

"There are these very unique fan practices that are organic to the fandom," he said. "It's not directed by Taylor herself. It's not directed by powerful people on social media. They have kind of grown organically."

In Vancouver, for instance, fan forums are filled with plans to surprise Swift including by singing Happy Birthday on the final night of the tour. Swift turns 35 on Dec. 13.

Twelve-year-old Elly Serrano, from Seattle, Wash., has her own project in mind.

She and her mother Elisha Serrano have a goal of collecting friendship bracelets from all 149 Eras Tour shows. They are heading to Vancouver this weekend as they close in on their goal.

They came up with the idea this summer, after a Swift concert included the surprise song "You're On Your Own, Kid," which references making friendship bracelets and launched the phenomenon of fans making and trading the jewelry.

The mother-daughter duo have amassed more than 46,000 followers on the TikTok account where they document their quest.

"We just never lost the Swiftie spirit here at our house," said Elisha Serrano, a fan since Swift debuted in 2006 and who has imparted Swiftie culture to her daughter.

Swift has been re-recording her first six albums because of a dispute over master recordings with her former label. Elisha Serrano said the re-recordings have allowed her to bond with her daughter in a way that she hadn't dreamt possible.

"I'm Taylor's age and her life kind of matched up with my life," she said.

"I don't think Taylor truly understands how incredible it is for us parents to go through re-releasing her music again. Reliving that again and getting to do that again with my kids is incredible," she said, tearing up.

Donovan said that this kind of multi-generational appeal is another aspect to Swift's starpower.

"It's mainly women and it's a cross-generational experience where mothers … are bringing their daughters into the fold and taking them to the shows," he said. "And because it is such a woman-dominated space, it feels safe."

Sometimes the fandom transfers the other way.

B.C. fan Becky Mercereau said she was converted by her 14-year-old daughter. They are attending Saturday's show together.

"You can play one second of the start of the song, and she knows it. She is bonkers," Mercereau said of her daughter.

They take part in monthly Taylor Swift themed events with other fans in their B.C. Interior community of Hudson's Hope, population 841. Members range in age from seven to over 50.

Donovan said part of the cross-generational appeal is that Swift's image, unlike that of other pop stars like Britney Spears or Madonna, does not cater to the male gaze.

Burt, the Harvard professor, agreed that Swift's public image sets her apart among most other fan-celebrity relationships.

"She is the biggest English-speaking artist with a fan army and her fan army differs from the kind of fan armies, or really intense groups around other pop stars, in that we're not trying to sleep with her," Burt said.

"We see ourselves in her, and we look up to her, and we see her as simultaneously as an imaginary friend and as a kind of emotional authority, a trustworthy (authority)."

THE COST OF SUPERFANDOM

Superfandom doesn't always come without sacrifice.

Mara Mozie, from New London, New Hampshire, has a ticket for Friday's show in Vancouver.

But her employer denied her time off to attend. So, she quit.

"You do what you've got to do. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said Mozie. She'll be attending with a friend who secured the tickets.

Donovan said the high cost of some aspects of superfandom has fuelled conversations around consumerism as well as class.

"There is a kind of status or cultural capital that comes with having seen Taylor live multiple times," he said. "There's also a status that comes with specific pieces of merch."

Tickets can cost thousands of dollars, hotel and short-term rental prices have soared in Vancouver, and the megastar's merchandise costs up to $115 for a sweater, and $30 for tote bags and other accessories. Resale prices can be much higher.

But Swift "didn't invent capitalism," Donovan said, she just found ways to harness it.

"She's just maximizing a situation that has existed before her and will exist after her," he said.

Burt, who went to the show in Edinburgh, agreed.

"If you think it adds nothing of value and shouldn't exist, think about how many other capital-intensive performing arts events you are also condemning," she said of the concert.

In any case, such considerations matter little to the true superfan — the experience of a Swift show is priceless to devotees like the Roys of Calgary.

Heather Roy said she and her daughter Harper have already planned their outfits for Saturday's show.

Harper will be wearing an outfit inspired by Swift's sparkly "Lover" era, and her 2019 album of the same name, while Heather's will reference the song "22" that her late daughter Evelyn loved so much.

Around her neck, Harper will wear a necklace with a picture of Evelyn.

And Heather Roy will be wearing a ring containing Evelyn's ashes.

B.C. real estate workforce facing pressure as housing demand surges, says report

Real estate needs workers

Photo: Times Colonist.

B.C.’s real estate sector faces workforce challenges as aging, retirements and population growth drive demand for workers in the coming decades.

B.C.’s real estate workforce is in for a shake-up in the coming decades.

That’s according to a new report that concluded attrition due to aging and retirement, as well as greater demand from a growing and changing population, will be putting pressure on employment growth in the sector.

Tuesday’s study from Rennie Advisory Services for the Real Estate Institute of B.C. breaks the real estate sector down into two categories of employment: real estate conveyance and real estate development. It noted that aging is occurring among real estate workers in both areas, and in the B.C. population at large.

In real estate conveyance, a total of 17,722 additional workers would be required each year to fill both potential retirements and additional demand.

In real estate development, a total of 71,892 additional workers are needed each year, the report said.

“It is clear that aging will be the dominant theme that will characterize community change in British Columbia overall in the coming years due to aging, low birth rates and out-migration in the younger age groups,” the REIBC study stated.

The report, Demography & Demand: The Changing Context for Real Estate Occupations in British Columbia, examined the relationship between population growth and housing demand.

It noted that between 2021 and 2041, B.C.’s population is projected to grow by 2,194,143 people, an increase of 42 per cent.

As a result of population growth, the report said B.C.’s total housing demand is projected to increase from 2,113,315 units in 2021 to 2,696,398 by 2031, and further to 3,206,927 by 2041. Over the next 20 years, this represents an increase of 1,093,613 units, or a 52 per cent increase from 2021.

Future housing demand therefore requires employment growth in the sector.

"Preparing for this transformation to ensure a robust labour force and improved process efficiencies requires collaboration across government, educational institutions, and industry leaders to ensure the resilience and sustainability of the real estate sector," REIBC president Clayton Olson in a statement.

Stolen North Vancouver firefighter uniforms recovered, police investigation continues

Stolen uniforms recovered

Photo: North Vancouver RCMP

The North Vancouver City Fire Department uniforms stolen from a drycleaning business. 

North Vancouver RCMP say firefighter uniforms have now been recovered after a suspect broke into a dry cleaning business in October.

The North Vancouver City Fire Department uniforms were found behind DNV Firehall #5 on Pemberton Avenue and W 15th Street and turned over to police, an RCMP spokesperson said in an email.

Police say a suspect broke into a dry cleaning business on West Third Street, south of Capilano Mall, in the early morning of Oct. 5.

Surveillance video from the business in October shows a masked suspect taking four fire department shirts with NVCFD crests and two pairs of black pants.

“Although the uniforms have been recovered, our investigation is still very active and ongoing,” North Vancouver RCMP spokesperson Const. Mansoor Sahak said in a media release.

North Vancouver RCMP ask anyone with information about this incident to call 604-985-1311 and quote file #2024-20392, or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Most new B.C. lawyers don't feel prepared for entry-level practice, survey shows

New lawyers not confident

Photo: Jeremy Hainsworth.

The Vancouver Provincial Courthouse.

Most law students and new lawyers say they are not properly prepared to venture into the legal system, according to a Law Society of BC survey that also focused on discrimination and equity.

Almost 60 per cent of respondents who completed articling in the last five years felt less than fully prepared for entry-level practice and of those who responded, 30 per cent encountered discrimination and/or harassment during recruitment and/or articling, the survey stated.

Albeit 40 per cent of the respondents said they felt “somewhat prepared” whereas only 15 per cent said “not very prepared” and four per cent said “not at all prepared."

Articling is the training process to become a lawyer under a veteran lawyer’s supervision.

Dispute resolution and practice management were the chief concerns where about half of respondents felt training was inadequate.

As far as compensation went, there were no “significant” gaps in pay between respondents self-identifying as “racialized, 2SLGBTQIA+, and Indigenous.” Those respondents had an overall average annual salary of $52,464, compared to the “not equity deserving group” earning $53,850 — a three per cent difference.

The gap was more so between female and male respondents with the former out-earning the latter $54,747 to $51,362, or six per cent more.

Hence, the “racialized, 2SLGBTQIA+, and Indigenous” respondents reported greater compensation than men.

In May 2024, the law societies of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia surveyed articling students/new lawyers and principals.

The society in B.C. heard from 380 new lawyers, 88 current articling students and 46 who had completed articling but are not currently practicing, along with 180 principals, 91 mentors, and 27 recruiters.

A 16.9 per cent response rate was achieved for articling students/new lawyers and the response rate for principals was 8.3 per cent. Sixty-two per cent of respondents were female and 74 per cent were trained in Canada.